Restoration · Patrícia Giménez Barrera

My approach

Respecting the material, recovering the reading

Every object arrives with a physical history: original paint layers, overpaints, oxidised varnishes, losses, cracks and years of use. My work always starts by reading that history, with a magnifier, raking light and, when needed, laboratory analysis, before touching anything.

I work with criteria of minimal intervention and reversibility: controlled cleaning, consolidation, filling of losses and inpainting that respects the original tones. When the loss is so great that no original remains to be restored, I say so clearly and propose a decorative painting that dialogues with the earlier design.

I document every phase with photographs before, during and after, and deliver a report listing the materials used and preventive conservation recommendations.

1 · Examination and diagnosis

Study of the condition, stratigraphy, materials and pathologies. Technical photography and, where appropriate, analysis (FTIR, Raman, XRF, hyperspectral).

2 · Cleaning

Removal of dirt, grease and degraded varnishes with aqueous methods or solvents selected through preliminary tests.

3 · Consolidation and filling

Fixing of unstable layers, filling of holes and losses with compatible putties (reinforced with fibreglass on structures subject to movement).

4 · Reintegration and protection

Illusionistic inpainting or decorative painting, followed by a protective varnish suited to the environment (indoors, outdoors, exposed to weather).

Painting on canvas and panelPolychromy and gildingWood and furnitureCeramics and kintsugiMetalsPapier-mâché and automataStone and mortarsPreventive conservation

Main project · 2022–2025

The carousel of the Parc d'Atraccions del Tibidabo

The Venetian carousel of Tibidabo (Bertazzon, 1989) is one of the best-loved pieces of Barcelona's oldest amusement park, founded in 1900. Exposed to the weather of the Collserola hills (sun, rain and wind), its paintings and decorative structures had lost much of their colour and legibility. Between 2022 and 2025 I restored and repainted, in two phases, the 28 painted ceiling panels, the 24 horses, the 2 carriages and the 2 teacups.

28painted ceiling panels

24horses

4carriages and teacups

2phases · 2022–23 and 2024–25

Phase 1 · November 2022 – April 2023

The painted panels of the ceiling

Fourteen outer panels with views of Barcelona and of the park itself, and fourteen inner panels with theatre scenes and historic attractions. On the outer panels, exposed to the weather, the loss of original paint was so great that in most cases restoration was not possible: a decorative painting was carried out instead, simulating the earlier drawing or integrating a design of similar style, respecting the underlying tones wherever overpaints were observed. On the inner panels, in better condition, the paintings were restored respecting the original drawing with illusionistic inpainting. Finally a protective varnish was applied against the harsh conditions of Collserola.

Before and after: the outer panels

Drag the handle across each image to compare the initial state with the result.

Before and after: the inner panels

Phase 2 · 2024 – February 2025

Horses, carriages and teacups

The second phase tackled the carousel's 24 horses, 2 carriages and 2 teacups. The process: cleaning of dirt, grease and residues with soap and water and, in the most difficult areas, with an organic solvent; stripping of the old, deteriorated paint and varnish layers by mechanical means, with an electric sander and sandpaper for the details; filling of holes and structural losses with fibreglass-reinforced putty, able to withstand the small movements of the ride; painting of the polychromy respecting Bertazzon's original design; and varnish as a final protection.

Before and after

The process and the result

Losses and overpaints under the oxidised varnish

Fitting and touch-ups on site at the carousel

On video

Another year without putting down the brush

Before and after of part of the carousel

Tibidabo · 2016 – 2021

The historic automata

The Tibidabo Automata Museum holds one of the most important collections of fairground automata in Europe. In 2016 I restored a group of polychrome papier-mâché busts: cleaning, consolidation, filling of losses, volumetric reconstruction of noses and fingers, colour reintegration of faces, hair and textile patterns, and final varnishing. Since then I have worked with the park's maintenance team on the care of its figures.

The four automata before the intervention

Back of the figure, with the mechanism opening

Chroma Restauració del Patrimoni Arquitectònic · 2020 – 2021

Heritage heritage

As a restorer and materials specialist I carried out on-site condition surveys and diagnosis of stone, mortars, renders and polychrome surfaces on historic buildings in Barcelona, and took part in designing the cleaning, consolidation and protection strategies. Photographic documentation, technical reports and treatment proposals in line with national and international standards.

Objects

Ceramics, furniture and antiques

I restore ceramics and decorative objects with criteria of reversibility: cleaning, bonding of fragments, reconstruction of missing parts and colour reintegration, either invisible or highlighted with gold in the manner of Japanese kintsugi. I also treat furniture and polychrome or gilded pieces, applying the same methodology as on the large structures of the carousel.

“Everything material can be rebuilt, and so can life projects; where there is life there is hope.”

Restoration & conservation